


Stick With The Program

by kamgguk



Category: stay/skz
Genre: Dystopian, M/M, skzau, stray kids au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 27
Words: 11,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27507358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kamgguk/pseuds/kamgguk
Summary: The Program. A fvcked up entertainment system for a fvcked up government. But what happens when the star of the show rebels? Can he help the others escape from their virtual prison?(slightly inspired by "Battle Royale" by Koushun Takami)
Relationships: Bang Chan/Hwang Hyunjin, Han Jisung/Lee Minho, Kim Seungmin/Yang Jeongin, Seo Changbin/Lee felix
Comments: 10
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> this story is also on my Wattpad account (@nae_soneul_jaba) please follow!

From: General Lee InSung  
To: Recruit 3972  
Date: 14/56/2467  
Every 30 years, 8 families are chosen_  
These families are required to produce a child_  
The children are placed in augmented reality_  
It's called The Program_  
Where they will stay_  
Their whole life_  
No one has ever escaped_  
No one ever will_  
Current Programs on air:  
You Wouldn’t Believe Your Eyes ~ Participant 176, Lee MinHo_  
3-4pm_  
Arisen ~ Participant 147, Lee YongBok/Lee FeLix_  
4-5pm_  
Pain In The Jisung ~ Participant 148, Han JiSung_  
6-7pm_  
Failure Is Not An Option ~ Participant 207, Yang JeongIn_  
7-8pm_  
One Lane ~ Participant 201, Kim SeungMin_  
8-9pm_  
Death Line ~ Participant 192, Seo ChangBin_  
9-10pm_  
Out of Place ~ Participant 180, Hwang HyunJin_  
10-11pm_  
Fourthcoming ~ Participant 125, Bang Chan/Christopher Bang_  
11-12pm_  
Now that you have been briefed, Soldier, are you ready to serve for the honor of the Republic of Greater East Asia?


	2. Out Of Place

Prince Hyunjin sat on the floor in the bathroom.

It was 6th grade graduation day.

He should be out there, up there on the stage.

Why must I be so dumb? How am I supposed to be King if I cannot even pass 6th grade?  
He had thought these thoughts two times before. This was his third time being held back. 

No, he was not retarded. He was actually rather clever. This was his Simulation. This was his challenge. Of course, he didn’t know this.

He was the Prince. Everyone respected him. They bowed to him. Fought for his attention. Praised him. But he was stuck with a burning disappointment in himself. He could not pass 6th grade.

He began to cry.


	3. Fourthcoming

“How was your day, honey?” Chan set his backpack down by the door, and followed his mom's voice to the kitchen. 

“It was okay, Mama.” Mama kissed his head. “What are you making, Mom?” he asked his other mom, who was stirring a pot full of broth and vegetables. “Kkori gomtang, want a taste?” He nodded eagerly, making Mom chuckle. Her food was the best. He took a sip of the steaming soup, sighing internally at the savory flavor.

Mama was a light hearted woman. She had short, brown hair and she was rather on the short side. She was always encouraging and energetic.

Mom was a quiet woman. She had long black hair and was very tall. She was as gentle as could be and was always there to lend an ear if Chan needed someone to talk to.

“Your fathers will be home soon.” Mama reminded. Chan nodded and went to the backyard to finish his chores. He mowed the lawn, and weeded the garden. Mom brought him a glass of lemonade. When he was finished, he began on his homework, which he finished in about 20 minutes.

He heard the door open and his fathers voices float through the house. He made his way to the living room, where his Papa tackled him and held him in a choke hold until he had given him a good nugie. His Dad shook his head and laughed while he watched the two play. “How was your day?” Chan asked, out of breath. 

Dad smiled and told him it was pretty mediocre. He worked as a secretary for an important CEO, and was always tired when he came home. “Well, I got a promotion today.” Papa said in a bragging voice. Chan and his moms congratulated him with hugs and kisses.

Papa was average height, with curly black hair (no one ever mentioned it, but it was beginning to turn grey). He was the ideal father; strong, protective, accepting, and loaded with dad jokes.

Dad was small. Very small. He was just barely taller Chan. He was very thin, thinner than Mom and Mama. He was very tender, and could always be found in Papa, Mom, or Mama’s lap.

Chan looked at his beautiful family. He dreaded 12 o’clock.


	4. Arisen

“...but dad…”

“No, son. You’re going.”

Felix sighed. He was feeling a little woozy today. He didn’t want to go to school, the students would make him puke. But his dad wouldn’t hear it. He would just have to suck it up.

Felix grabbed his threadbare backpack and left the house. He trudged along the muddy road under the cloudy sky until he saw the dirty, wooden school house up on the hill. There were a few students lounging on the hill, waiting for class to start. He kept his head down as he entered the classroom, careful not to let his eyes wander. He didn't want to see them.

No, he was not a cynic. If he had been selected for a different Simulation, he would have been quite a people person. Of course he didn’t know this. But he couldn’t stand their faces. The children's faces, so cheerful, would crack, sink in, and decompose when he looked at them. Zombies without the biting...

“Children, come inside!” the teacher yelled. The students that had been outside made their way to their desks. The teacher, Miss Mia, tapped Felix’s shoulder. Felix braced himself and turned around. 

Miss Mia was a lovely woman. She had long, orange hair and a round face, and almond eyes all the men in town fell head over heels for. Including Felix’s father, who happened to be the only man Miss Mia was interested in. 

“How is your father?” her skin turned ashy grey. It began to flake.

Felix forced a smile. “He’s okay.” Her mouth erupted with maggots, crawling over her face and into her eyes and ears.

“Well, I hate to make you our messenger boy, but could you tell him I’m free this saturday?” Spiders swung down from her nose.

“Um…” Felix’s stomach was doing flips.

Her eyeballs fell forward, landing on the floor. The black pits where they had been stared back at him.

‘M-Miss M-” a dark red liquid exploded out of her eye sockets, splattering all over Felix.

Felix froze. No. This couldn’t be happening. He tried to take a deep breath but only the smell of rotting flesh greeted him. His stomach couldn't take it. He barfed.


	5. You Wouldn't Believe Your Eyes

“Dude your elbow’s in the mashed potatoes.”  
Minho sighed and moved his elbow. His best friend, Eric, shook his head. “Minho, you seem out of it today. You okay?” 

Minho was blind. Had been since birth.

“Yeah, just have a headache.” He put his head in his hands, massaging his forehead with his thumbs. “You want me to take you to the nurse?” Minho shook his head. “There’s only two more periods, I'll be fine.”

They were in cooking class. PE was next. Minho groaned. He hated PE. He listened as Eric finished making the dessert. The teacher came around to taste the assignments and soon the bell rang for the next class.

Minho held on to the back of Eric’s backpack, making their way through the crowded hallways. They sat on the bleachers in the gym, waiting for the coach to get there. Eric's friends came over and sat by them, ignoring Minho completely. He was used to it.

When the coach finally arrived, he told the students to run laps. Minho got the usual, push ups and sit ups. He did it everyday, causing his arms and stomach to become hard with muscle. He was rather handsome, and most girls in the school would stare at him throughout the day. But he was different. He scared them.

PE was over in about an hour. Eric helped Minho to his next class, history, then left to attend his own class. History was Minho's favorite. It was easy. He could look up most of the answers on his Braille computer and listen to the answer through his headphones. They were studying something about early humans. Minho finished his work with 20 minutes lefts in class. He stopped tapping his pencil and tried to doodle. He'd never know if it was good or not. He liked to imagine he could draw. Like he was Picasso, and everyone marveled at his art. The bell rang, bringing him out of his revere.

Eric met him in the hallway. He let himself be lead through the crowded halls again. They made their way out to the where the buses were waiting. Eric stopped him outside of their bus. "Uh... so..." Minho could hear him shifting around nervously. "Yes?" They were gonna be late for their bus if they didn't hurry. "Um, I don't... wanna... be your... friend... anymore..." Eric mumbled. Minho froze.

No. No, this wasn't- he had to be dreaming. Eric would never-  
And yet, right at this very moment, he was hearing his best friend for ten years walk away from him. He heard the laughter of Eric's other friends as they patted him on the back and pointed rudely at the blind boy.

Minho couldn't move. Couldn't think. He didn't register when he heard the buses pull away. The sun beat down on him and the only thought on his mind was to get away from the hot tears trailing down his face. 

He found his way to the doors and reentered the school. He wandered down the hallways. He was lost. 

I don't want to be found.

He found a staircase and realized what he wanted to do.


	6. Pain in the Jisung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> so like, i made them talk weird??? idk, just really proper, smthlt

Jisung / Jihwa  
m(male) f(female)  
age:13

Jisong/Jieun  
m(male) f(female)  
age:11

Jigan/Jimil  
m(male) f(female)  
age:10

Jiro/Jika  
m(male) f(female)  
age:9

Jibun/Jida  
m(male) f(female)  
age:8

Jiseon/Jitto  
m(male) f(female)  
age:7

Jigan/Jima  
m(male) f(female)  
age:6

Jiroo/Jibeo  
m(male) f(female)  
age:5

Jidag/Jisan  
m(male) f(female)  
age:4

Jijak/Jiwa  
m(male) f(female)  
age:2  
==========================  
“Jisan, please!” Jisung begged, running after his baby sister as she dove under the sofa. “No! Sungie can’t catch me!” Jisung sighed and looked around. “Jiro, can you tell Jimil to get out of the shower?” his little brother nodded and hurried off towards the bathrooms.

“Jieun, tell the girls (Jika, Jida, Jitto, Jima) that their breakfast is ready!” He heard Jihwa yell from the kitchen. Jieun bounded up the stairs to gather the little ones. Jisung groaned as he heard a crashing noise from down the hall. “Jigan, Jisong, please go get Jijak and Jiwa ready.”

Jisung jogged down the hall. He already knew who was causing trouble, he just didn’t know what kind. As expected, when he peered inside the fourth door down the hall, he was met with Jigan’s crying, Jiseon’s laughing, Jibun’s “ooh you are in trouble”, but most of all Jiroo’s mischievous smile. 

This was the Feisty Four, as the other siblings called them. Jiseon was along for the laughs. Jigan was sensitive, and cried easily, but he wanted to be cool, he wanted to hang out with the big kids. Jibun was the “leader” since he was the oldest of them, but that was really a lie. Jiroo, although the youngest of them, was the puppet master. He was manipulative and could twist the truth like no other Jisung knew.

He watched as Jiroo’s smile faded into a worried, upset expression. He bent down and offered his hand to Jigan. “Are you ok?” Jibun crossed his arms and Jiseon turned away to continue packing his backpack. “Yeah, I-I’m alright.” Jigan gave Jiroo a confused look that told Jisung everything he needed to know.

“Jibun, go help them make their pop-tarts, please.” They all looked at each other and made their way out the door. “Not you.” Jisung put a hand on Jiroo’s shoulder. The boy looked up at Jisung, his face was questioning, but other than that, blank. Jisung studied his eyes. There was something there. It was subtle, but it was a dark something that made Jiroo seem a lot older than five. Jiroo’s eyes flitted around Jisung’s face and stopped back on his eyes.

A slow smile spread across the boys face. It unsettled Jisung. Jiroo knew Jisung knew what he was. The smile was slightly turned up more to the right side. An air of slyness clouded his eyes and he moved Jisung’s hand off his shoulder. He winked and turned on his heel, walking down the hallway to the direction the other boys went.

Jisung stared after him. He’d have to ask Jihwa what he should do about this. Later, though. For now he walked to the kitchen. It looked like everyone was there. He gave Jihwa a thumbs up. Jihwa shook her head and mouthed “Jidag, Jibeo?”

Jidag and Jibeo were inseparable. No one really had a problem with that, since Jidag entered school a year early, and they were in the same grade. Jisung knew exactly where they would be. He shook his head and started up the stairs. There was a blanket of silence up here. Only the muffled noises that floated up from downstairs. Jisung wrestled with the always-jammed window before swinging out onto the roof.

And there they were.

Their heads turned in synchronization towards Jisung, and their smiling faces turned to pouts. “No, Sungie, we wanna stay!” Jibeo crossed her arms. Jidag whined and glared. “Come on you two, it isn't that bad. You are going to make everyone else late.” They sighed and started crawling towards him. He pulled them back in the window and they dramatically flopped on the ground. “I’m thirsty.” Jidag sat up and looked around. Jisung picked up the boys water bottle, which was leaning against the wall, and handed it to him. Jibeo stood up and dusted her legs off while Jidag took a sip.

What happened next would be the first worst moment of his life.

Jidag dropped the water bottle and started coughing. “Jida-?” Jidag groaned and blood splattered the ground. Jideo screamed and grabbed her little brother. “Jidag, what-?” “S-Sungie!!!” Jidag gripped the front of Jisung’s shirt. Jisung didn’t know what to do. Jidag watched his eyes. He watched Jidag’s. They were telling him to do something, to do something fast. But what could he do? “Jidag, I-I don’t-” the boy coughed again, this time the hot blood splattered all over Jisung's face. Jisung felt the boys grip on his shirt loosen. He quickly wiped his face off with his sleeve and held his little brothers face. It was getting cold. His baby was dying. “No, Jidag. I know you are sleepy, but please… don’t go to sleep.”

Jidag glanced over at Jideo. “Sleepy…” he whispered, before he closed his eyes. They were silent for a moment. “Jideo, Jideo go get Jihwa, now.”


	7. boop

so like, most of my writing is in class so sorry for the slowness. uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh, also cant believe how many people actually like this so thanks!!!!!!!!! much love,  
내 별들<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<3  
{\\___/}  
( o^o )  
( .<3.)  
U U  
(P.S. it's woozi, kihyun, and chenle's birthdays today!)


	8. Failure Is Not An Option

“Third place; Eun Laye.”

“Second place; Bo Jaegguk.”

“First place…

...Yang Jeongin!”

Jeongin rolled his eyes. Well, no one expected any other result.

He let the announcer put the gold medal around his neck. He’d grown to hate the color. It reminded him of how oh-so perfect he was. He always ended up throwing them away anyways.

He followed the rest of the contestants off the stage, but before he reached his seat, he took one of the doors out into the hallway. It was dark, as all the other students were in the auditorium he had just left. He kicked an open locker. It slammed into place and caused a few more to do the same.

He glared at the locker. Now, this might sound strange to you, but he wanted to fail. He wanted to do something wrong. He wanted someone to be disappointed in him. Failing is the only thing he ever failed at. 

He had enjoyed the glory, the praise and the girls for a long time. But it got old. All of it. He was so tired. Well, not really. He couldn’t even get tired correctly!!!!! But he really was tired of all the perfection. He pushed open the doors to the courtyard. The moon was beautiful. But it always was. Nothing new. The grass looked perfect and freshly mowed. Of course it wasn’t, no one ever mowed it, but it stayed that way. He flopped down on the ground beside the koy pond. He watched the fish swim peacefully, while his mind raged in chaos.

He closed his eyes and felt the gentle breeze on his face. It was warm, stirring. He reached beside him and found a smooth stone. He held it for a moment. It was cool. He pulled his arm back and threw it as hard as he could. He kept his eyes closed, waiting for a splash. There was no splash.

He opened his eyes. Wham. “ah~!” he held the back of his head with his hand. He looked behind him. Who threw that? There was no one there. He looked down. No. Way.

He grinned. He laughed. He picked up the smooth stone that he had thrown. It was the same one that just hit him in the head. He looked out across the yard. He wondered…

He pulled his arm back once again and threw the rock the direction it had come from. He watched it speed through the air. Suddenly, the air around the rock lit up, in a kind of grid, and the rock slipped into one of these cracks. Jeongin spun around with wide eyes and ducked just in time for the rock to go whizzing over his head, shot from another grid. He smiled to himself. This was gonna be exciting.


	9. One Lane

“Kneel.”  
“S-Sir-”  
“KNEEL. NOW.”

The girl kneeled. “Now, class. What do we do when someone is… abnormal.”

“Terminate them!”

“Which one of you would like the honors?”

“I would Mr. Kim.” Jake, the new transfer student stood up. Mr. Kim handed Jake the gun. Jake’s face remained blank as he raised it to Hayaki’s head and pulled the trigger. Seungmin whimpered as her blood exploded into the air in a mist. It was a good thing he wasn’t in the front, or that whimper would have earned him the same fate as Hayaki.

“Back to the lesson.” 

Seungmin pretended to fill out his work book as he thought about what just happened; his cousin, just recently in from Japan just got shot for asking to use the bathroom before the scheduled break. He felt his throat close up. No, no he couldn’t cry. If he cried, that’d make him different. 

I'm not different. No, I am the same as everyone else. 

He chanted the Equality Mantra in his head; I am You, You are Me. We are We. We are strong.

“Mr. Kim Seungmin.”

Seungmin jumped. Mr. Kim was looking at him. “Yes, sir?” his heart pounded in his ears. Had he seen that Seungmin wasn’t actually working? “I understand that you are- were- Hayaki’s cousin. Her body is starting to stink. Please, carry her out to the dumpster.” Seungmin’s eyes widened. “Yes, of course, sir.” 

He stood and made his way to the front of the classroom. No one spared him a glance. He knelt down beside Hayaki. Or what was left of her. All of her forehead and one of her eyes were gone. Her fists were curled up near her head. They were still warm. He knew if he delayed longer he would attract attention. He lifted her up, and laid her across one of his shoulders. She was a small thing, not heavy at all. Who ever had been Selected for her would have been a lucky guy.

He tried not to think about the warm liquid trailing down his back. He came to the dumpster, behind the school, and pulled Hayaki off his shoulder. She was starting to get cold and, as Mr. Kim had said, she stunk.

He lifted her to the edge of the dumpster. There was barely enough room for her, other limbs and bodies blocking the way. A slight, warm breeze lifted the smell of dead bodies up to his nose and he gagged, dropping Hayaki into the dumpster. He backed away from the large, metal container. The breeze was like a warm blanket, strangely comforting to him. 

Whoom. He turned around just in time to see a stone disappear into the air in front of him. What? Was he hallucinating? No, people aren’t supposed to hallucinate. Seungmin only did what he was supposed to. And right now, he was supposed to get back to class. He made sure to walk quickly so he didn’t keep Mr. Kim waiting.


	10. pleeeeeeeeeease

um im grounded. for being gay. well, bi technically. so, i cant be on my phone for god knows how long. therefore, i can only use this completely restricted school computer and it will let me on ao3 but it wont let me on wattpad. 

so i have a favor to ask.

can someone PLEASE go post this on my wattpad page(@nae_soneul_jaba)?:

"oml hello sorry im grounded from my phone  
love you guys and wish i could talk!!!  
but sadly, my computer will not let me on wattpad ;^;  
@VladimirHeraskov  
@soonjunsvt  
im so sorry i left ya'll hanging  
i miss you guys sm"

if you do pass it along, please comment below that you did  
ive been stressing about this for a while and i dont think im getting ungrounded any time soon


	11. Death Line

“Changbin wake up.”  
“Changbin. Come on. Wake up.”  
Chaaaaaaaaaaaaangbiiiiiiiiiin, waaaaaaaakie waaaaaaaaaaaakie.”

He opened his eyes. And closed them again. Everything was so bright in the steril, white room that Changbin spent most of his time in. “Changbin!” Mr. Lee snapped his fingers in front of his face. “Ok, ok im awake.” 

“Took you long enough.” The old man’s gruff voice sounded only slightly irritated. “Yeah, yeah…” Changbin sat up, watching the old man pull out his breakfast. His breakfast being in injection form, Mr. Lee was cleaning a needle with his gloved hands. You could say that Changbin had never really seen Mr. Lee, as Mr. Lee was always required to wear full scrubs around him.

Changbin wasn’t your normal long-term patient. He was a mutant, an experiment gone wrong. There was no use for him, besides “research purposes”. At least, that’s what he was told. In reality, he had been genetically altered to be the way he was. Of course, he didn’t know that.

Changbin held out his arm and Mr. Lee gave him the injection. Changbin no longer felt the injection, as he had been receiving them since he was born. He really didn’t know what he was being fed, but he didn’t wanna ask.

He rolled over on his side, facing the wall. Mr. Lee made a humming noise. “Are we sad again today, Mr. Bin?” Changbin sighed. “I told you not to call me that…” Mr Lee chuckled. “I don’t really have to do what you say, now do I?”

“Mr. Lee…”

“Yes, Changbin?”

“Why do you think that?”

Mr. Lee gave him a confused look. “Think what?” Changbin smiled, not turning over. “That you don't have to do what I say?” He heard the old man chuckle. “Well, Changbin, you’re not the one paying me. If you did, then I would have to listen to you.” Changbin sat up, and turned to him. “You might wanna rethink that.”

He gave Mr. Lee three seconds to puzzle over that before he held out his fist, willing the old man’s throat to constrict. Mr. Lee gagged, strangled sounds coming from his reddening face. Changbin watched in fascination as it turned from red to purple, and from purple to blue. Mr. Lee was writhing on the ground, but he wouldn’t last long. A few moments later, he stilled. 

Changbin jumped up from his bed. It was only a matter of seconds before-

As predicted, several soldiers, clad in black and wielding guns, barged in.

Why wasn’t he here? He was supposed to show up. Were the stories just… stories?

The first soldier aimed at him and he realized that he had made a mistake, he was on his own. There was no one to help him-

There was a sound like an explosion, and a blinding blue light lit up in front of him, from which stepped a dark figure. The soldiers now aimed at that figure, but it paid them no attention, turning to Changbin instead. The sound of a gun firing was accompanied by the sensation of being pulled through time and space itself. Which, if I might add, is a very unique sensation.

The light was gone. Changbin was standing in a black room, completely mapped with an illuminated, three-D grid. The figure was still standing beside him, but now he could see its face.

It was a boy, younger than him, with dark hair and a severe face. Changbin saw that the boy was gritting his teeth and holding his arm, which was dripping blood. He somehow found his voice; “A-are you ok?” The boy nodded once then walked towards one of the walls. Changbin followed. The wall opened up for them, and they entered a brightly lit room, full of computers and monitors. But the first thing Changbin noticed, were the 8 gigantic screens in the front of the room. They showed a variety of scenes, one of them even showed Changbin’s room, now crawling with men in black suits

“My name’s Changb-”

“I know. I’m Hyunjin. I have to go, goodbye.” the boy, Hyunjin, turned away and walked towards another door, just like the one they had just come through. Changbin watched as a girl, probably older than himself, tried to look at Hyunjins hurt arm. Hyunjin said something to her and pushed her away. Hyunjin was through the other door by the time someone noticed Changbin, a boy in a hospital gown, standing there, looking lost. It was a man in all grey, probably in his early thirties. “I assume you’re Changbin?” the man didn’t wait for an answer before continuing. “I’m Eric, can’t tell you my full name, but my ID number is V913.” (yes, it’s Eric Nam) Changbin ran a hand through his hair. “Uh, i guess it’s nice to meet you? Where did Hyun- Hyunjin? Yeah Hyunjin, where did he go? He seemed rushed, and he was hurt-”

The man held out a hand to stop him, and pointed to one of the screens. “See that boy?” On it, there was a boy standing on the corner of a roof, looking down. Changbin nodded, and Eric continued. “If Hyunjin doesn't go stop him, he’s gonna jump off that roof. And we can’t let him die; we need him. We need him the same way we need you. You’re special. And, unexpectedly, you’re the first character we’ve acquired, other than Hyunjin.”

“Character?”

Eric hesitated. It’s complicated, and I promise I’ll explain it later but right now, why don’t we get you some clothes?”

"


	12. Stray

Minho could feel his feet pounding on the concrete steps, the momentum of his anger driving out any rational thought. He slammed into the door that led to the roof, fumbling to find the handle. Once he had it open, he didn’t hesitate at all. He fell to his knees, feeling for the edge. Once he found it, he stood. This was it. It was just him, and there was nothing between him and the ground, except a 100 meter fall. He knew this adrenaline would leave him in a few moments, but he just stood feeling the wind against his hot, tear stained face.

Now. He needed to do this now. He lifted his head, shifting his weight forward. His center of gravity flipped, his feet left the ground and he was plummeting head first. He smiled, imagining what the teachers thought watching a body fall past their window. He, obviously, couldn't see it, but he knew the ground was approaching. He didn’t brace himself for impact, he consoled himself.

It would all be over...

There was a loud sound, almost like a car going right over him, and he felt an arm wrap around his waist. He did hit something, but it definitely wasn’t the ground. It was another person.


	13. Mutual

“Bongcha! Go away!” Hyunjin looked at the girl with exasperation. He was laying on one of the clinic beds while a medic sowed his bullet wound shut. Bongcha looked frozen. She took a shaky breath in, and looked like she was going to continue. She had been ranting at him angrily about how he should be more careful, and shouldn’t risk his life for another characters. Thankfully, one of the Captains rushed up to them, HoloDoc in hand.

“Sir, Character Three is still in shock. He’s not reacting well to our treatments.” Hyunjin sighed. He knew this would happen. As soon as he took Lee Minho out of his simulation, his carefully balanced vision of reality would be thrown out the window. Seo Changbin was different. He already knew the world was fvcked up, he just hadn’t known to what extent.

Speaking of Changbin, or, rather, thinking of Changbin, he was now approaching. The kid was now dressed in actual clothes, and pretty stylishly, might he add. Changbin cleared his throat and waved slightly to Hyunjin. “Uh, I guess I just wanted to thank you for saving me… and, um.... How’s your arm?” Hyunjin gave him a friendly smile. “It’s fine, should heal up quickly.” Bongcha crossed her arms. “How come when I ask how you are, you get annoyed, but when he asks, you just smile?!”

Hyunjin stood up, glaring at Bongcha for a moment before grabbing Changbins arm and guiding him away. “I’m sorry about her. She's got an inflated ego… or something. Anyways…” he pointed to a hallway and they started towards it. “How are you adjusting?” Changbin laughed a little. “I’ve barely been here an hour. But, I do have some questions.” 

“And I probably have an answer to one of them.” They reached the hallway, and Hyunjin took the lead, weaving through lefts and rights like he did this all the time. “First of all, what is this place called?”

“We’re generally referred to as ‘The Rebels’.”

“What do you guys do?”

“We’ve been in operation for a long time, only now making progress. But really, we just do everything in our power to oppose the Republic.”

“What’s the Republic?”

“The Government, the people that trapped you in that room your whole life.”

Changbin was silent for a moment. “What did you mean by ‘only now making progress’?”

“We’ve- the Rebels have been trying for 20 years, and nothing really happened. Until 6 months ago. I used to be in a Program- that’s the fake life the Republic gives you so they can make a TV show out of you- mine was centered around the fact that I was stupid. I was Prince Hyunjin, heir to the throne and the most popular boy in middle school. I hated it. I’m a perfectionist, and I knew the country would fall to chaos when I took the throne. But that’s when I created the Glitches. Participants weren’t made to think deeply, about anything. But I would sit on the highest terris of my tower, and think ‘there’s no way this is the only world. It’s too small.’ and I proved myself right. Cracks in the air would appear every now and then, small at first. They scared me, but when they got bigger, they would open up. And I could see for a moment… a whole nother life. I saw a boy hunted by his parents, a boy who couldn’t fail, a boy who dutifully took care of 19 siblings, a boy who saw death on every face, a boy raised to be exactly like everyone else, a blind boy, and a boy trapped in mythe sickness. They were just like me. We’re called Characters. The main subject of our Program. These Characters moved me, and finally, I got the courage to touch one of the Glitches.”

Hyunjin paused for a moment to take out a card, with 180 written on it in large print. He touched the door with it, and it opened.

“I arrived here through it, and I became the very first Agent.” He turned to Changbin. “You are the Second Character to arrive here, and you will become the second Agent. Characters are the only ones who can use the Glitches. We have to train ourselves to use our gifts to rescue the other Characters.” Hyunjin entered the open door. Changbin followed.


	14. Arrival

Bam! Bam! Bam!  
Chan leaned harder on the door. His head was spinning with thoughts, all whizzing by too fast to comprehend. He was running purely on instinct. He could hear their hisses, and their claws scraping against the door. He’d have to change position soon, before this door- Crack! The door split up the center. He jumped away from it, just before it was smashed in. He knew there was no time to aim the gun in his hands, his best chance was to run. And run he did. He scrambled to the window, and threw himself into the glass, praying to the universe that the glass would break. He felt the shards stick into his skin and he was falling. His shoulder screamed in pain, one of them having sliced it with their talons.

He slammed into the ground, a crack ringing in his head, and he knew he broke a rib. Nonetheless, he was up and running. But where? Not the woods, he tried that last night, he had died almost instantly by Papa’s ambush. Instead, he decided to take the road. The road was completely shadowed, although there was nothing surrounding it. It was exactly what he needed.

Over the years, Chan had learned that the darkness was his friend. It would hide him and help him. He jogged along the side of the road, his eyes already adjusted. There was no need for light to be able to see. It was only the depth of the shadows. He heard a muffled sound behind him. He whirled around and held the trigger down. There was a repetitive thud as the bullets ripped through flesh. Chan glanced at Mom’s scaley, bullet ridden body and smiled. She was always the stealthy one. Having her gone would make this a lot easier.

He continued down the road, eyes and ears alert to the softest of sounds. He had never made it through the night. They always got him in the end. But he could increase his chances. He always left the house as quick as possible. They usually trapped him in the yard, and he usually died there. Tonight was different, though.

He had come downstairs with his guard down. They never began inside anymore, so his gun had been slung over his shoulder. He had almost peed himself when he heard a hiss from the kitchen. To make a long story short, they chased him upstairs, but he had made it to his room with only one bite on his thigh from Mama.

Mama would be hunting alone. Well, he didn’t really know that. Papa could be with her, but it was unlikely. The three normally did split up. Two chasing after him and one in some unknown abush location. Mama was probably coming from behind. Papa was probably up ahead. If he could get them together, without them seeing him… he had an idea.

He ran harder, veering to the other side of the road. There was a lone tree. He reached it, and as soon as he lay his hand on it, the shadows covering the road swung up to cover the tree as well. He swung his gun over his shoulder and began to climb. He had made it about four meters up when he heard the tell-tale swish.

A dark shape loomed from his left. Based on the direction it came from; Papa. He raised his gun, aiming straight for its head. Just before he pulled the trigger, there was a scream. Not just any scream. It was Dad. The shadow below him turned to the sound, and started to run. Chan didn't hesitate to gun him down with the most accuracy he could muster. He didn’t wait for Papa to still before scrambling down the tree and running as fast as possible towards the scream.

Dad was here. Dad was in the game.

Dad had never turned into the monsters like Mama, Mom and Dad did at night. He always just… disappeared. He would always return in the morning, like the others, but he didn’t exist during the night. But now he did. And based off that scream, he was human, and he was in danger.

That’s why Mama hadn’t caught up yet! She was after Dad!

Chan knew tonight was different. The outcome would, for once, be different. For better or for worse.


	15. Dead to the World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im sorry.  
> im sorry  
> im sorry  
> im sorry

“Dad, you can’t just-!”  
“Shut up, I can do what I want, and right now, you’re lucky I don’t kill you.” He shoved Felix through his bedroom doorway. “Dad, it’s not my fault! I told you I didn’t feel good! How could I know I’d throw up on her?!” Felix tried not to flinch when Dad grabbed his collar. “Boy, I swear to god, if you don’t stop sassing me-”

“I’m not sassing you! Please, Dad just listen to me!” Their faces were inches away, close enough for Felix to see the hatred in his old man’s eyes. Dad’s face was the only one that never decomposed. “I’m not your Dad you, little sh!t!” Dad threw him on the floor. “Your Mom was a crazy woman. She cheated on me and had you with her mister. And you know what? He killed her after that. So I took you in, figured I’d raise a decent kid. Lord, was I wrong. You’re just like your mother…”

Felix crawled away, backing himself into a corner. Something changed in Dad's eyes. Something scarier than the hate. Dad- well he wasn’t really his dad, his name was Hangyeol- slowly came closer. “I won’t let you call me Dad… but you can call me Daddy.” (Oh my god i just died a little inside.)

Felix knew what was happening. He knew he should run, but he froze. His brain went blank. He felt numb when Hangyeol pushed him to the floor. It was all a blur of skin, lips and pain. There was no pleasure. Everything was cold. And then it was over.

It was an eternity before Felix could even sit up. And when he did, he was greeted by the silence of his empty room. He felt gross, he felt sticky. He needed a shower, but he knew his bedroom was locked. He picked up his clothes and put them on carefully, trying to minimize the pain he was in. He wanted to cry. He wanted to scream. He wanted to hit someone. He wanted to hit himself for letting that happen. He should have fought back, should have done something.

A cool breeze caught his attention. It was coming from his window, slightly open. He opened it all the way and watched the wildflowers sway in synchronization. He knew he couldn’t stay here. He carefully climbed over the window sill. There was a big town not far to the east, only about 12 miles. He would go there. Yes, he would go and get a job. He didn’t need school. He didn’t need anyone.

He started walking. There were no hills in this direction. A straight shot. The journey would be easy. The arrival- now that’s a different story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel so bad after writing that, im sorry felix!  
> ALSO my gmail is kamgguk@gmail.com, so if yur bored and you wanna talk, yeah  
> but fyi i can only talk-  
> Mondays: 9:00 to 5:00  
> tuesdays: 9:00 to 3:00  
> wednesdays: 8:00 to 5:00  
> thursdays: 8:00 to 5:00  
> fridays: 8:00 to 2:00  
> saturdays: none  
> sundays: none


	16. noteu

ok, this is the last one!  
can someone pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease post this on my wattpad page(@nae_soneul_jaba)?:

"@VladimirHerascov  
@soonjunsvt  
please email me!  
kamgguk@gmail.com  
love you guys and miss you sm!  
also, if any of my followers wanna talk, feel free to email<3"


	17. Shattering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> im sorry for being so slow!

Jeongin sat on his bed, staring out the window. The sky was grey and a light rain clouded the air. It was one of those nights. The ones were he could feel the storm, feel the electricity. His eyes lazily followed the water droplets down the window. His mom had called him down for dinner a minute ago, but he wasn’t hungry. He was too excited.

He didn’t even know what he was excited about, he just knew that something…  
something was coming. 

The rain was slowly picking up, and he swore he could feel the wind on his face, although the window was closed. He stood up and grabbed his knife, putting in his pocket. He didn’t know why, he just felt like he needed it. He stood by the window, watching the clouds roll eastward. The first bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, blue lighting up the land below. Jeongin wanted out.

He shoved his window open and swung his legs through it, landing softly on the grass. He didn’t know specifically where he wanted to go, he just wanted to be out in the thick of it. Jeongin knew it was incredibly stupid to walk into the middle of a thunderstorm, but here he was, walking into bushes surrounding the cane field.

The blue grass was wet and slippery, already swamped with rainwater. He reached the stalks of cane, pushing them gently aside. The lightning crackled overhead, causing the hair on the back of Jeongin’s neck to stand up. He hesitated as he neared the center of the field. Reality was coming back to him. Why would he intentionally… a roll of thunder interrupted his thoughts.

He glanced up. The clouds were swirling above him, even beginning to form a funnel reaching down. He kept going. He was approaching the center. The funnel was getting closer and closer to the ground. Finally, he was dead center. The funnel was coming straight down, right towards him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the knife. There was another roll of thunder, this time louder, and it shook the ground. Jeongin watched the blindingly blue bolt of lightning burst down the funnel, heading straight for him. He smiled.

Darkness surrounded him, and he was being pulled roughly upwards. There was another flash and he was thrown into a dark room covered in thin strings of light. He hit the floor and groaned. His vision blurred, and just before he lost consciousness, he swore he saw a door open.


	18. ?????

I made a website  
https://sites.google.com/k12bcs.org/cuddlepuddle/home  
:)

also, fvck, fvck, fvck  
ateez makes me wanna date a fem boyyyyyyyyyy


	19. yay

so i decided i will be updating my works every three days, on rotation, so sorry for the wait :)

also, when summer rolls around, my parents will probably lock my computer up, so if in 6 months i disappear, ill be back in 3 months, dont worry.


	20. Awoken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> srry this took so long, got a little wrapped up in my other fics

_Just a little longer, please, please, just a little-_

Chan burst out of the woods, frozen at the sight that greeted him. There was Dad (alive!), just barely hanging on to the rails of the second floor balcony. Below him, Mama prowled, almost able to reach him. And by the looks of it, she already had, at least once. Dad’s right leg was nowhere to be seen, only a bloody stump in its place. The man was visibly shaking, adrenaline probably the only reason he was still alive. Chan knew he had to get Mama away from him. “Hey, Dumbo, over here!” he shouted, waving his arms. Mama whirled around and snarled, but didn’t get too far before she was pelted with bullets and knocked to the ground.

“Dad!” Chan ran forward, catching his father right before he hit the ground. The man looked dazed, confusion clouding his features. “Chan…?” Chan sat down, laying Dad on his lap “Y-yes, Dad, it’s me. They’re all dead, all gone. You’re ok, Dad…” he ran a hand through Dad’s hair, and checked his wound. Dad had already lost a lot of blood. He didn’t have long. Maybe if he made a tourniquet… 

There was a warm breeze, sliding across his face and calming him. He kissed his Dad’s forehead and glanced up at the sky. The clouds were gone, and the moon shone bright. There was nothing Chan could do to save Dad… Nothing… No hope… and suddenly, they were both falling through the ground, down, down, down, into a black nothingness. A bright light rose toward them. Or, no, they were falling toward the light. When they hit it, there was no impact, just silence, and thin lights beaming around them.


	21. Precious

“Jisung, come quickly, it’s Jijak!”

“Fvck…” Jisung muttered, throwing his book aside. He followed Jieun down the hall, and entered the nursery. Jihwa was kneeling on the floor, sobbing as she tried to stir Jijak.

Jijak.

The boy's skin was blue, his eyes were closed and he was barely breathing. Jisung ran a hand through his hair and crumpled beside Jihwa. This was the eleventh time. The eleventh worst moment of his life. His babies. His babies were dying. Since Jidag, half of his little siblings had met the same fate. Only Jijiak, Jiro, Jika, Jigan, Jimil, Jisong, Jieun, Jiroo, Jihwa and Jisung himself remained. It was obviously poison. They had moved to three different cities, trying to shake their assailant, but to no avail. The deaths continued. And now he was watching Jijak breath his last breath, the toddlers eyes shut tight. Jisung was done crying, he had no more tears to cry over his brothers and sisters, who he had raised, fading away into nothing. But that didn't mean his heart wasn’t ripped out every time.

In his world, there were no police. Sure, there was a government, but it was a corrupt one, and crime ran rampant. They would never get to the hospital in time to save the kids, and they didn’t have enough money. Besides, there was no telling who’s side the doctors were on. There was no one to help them. “Oh, Jisung, how? How did we end up like this? All was well and- and-” Jihwa wailed, and Jisung wrapped her in a hug. There were no words to say, no way to consol, only shared pain as the remaining nine siblings gathered together.


	22. so

would you guys rather i;  
1) update every day one week, and update once the next week, repeat  
or  
2) update every other day


	23. Outside The Lines

Seungmin stood as straight as he could, grateful that they were required to stare straight ahead. There was a crowd below the stage he was standing on, and he was getting nervous. He stood in alphabetical order with the other boys on an elevated platform to the left, the girls doing the same but to the right. The Announcer stood in the middle, shuffling through gold plated cards with names of perfect Selections determined by The Alis. As couples were selected, they would exit the stage to sit by their parents. Seungmin was behind Jake, and the line was getting shorter and shorter. He glanced at the girls across from them. He couldn’t imagine being with any of them. He had never been excited for this, dreading it almost.

“Kim Seungmin and Choi Soru.” Seungmin stepped forward, heart pounding in his ears. But none of the girls stepped forward. He scanned the girl's line, but Soru was nowhere to be seen. _Pow, pow, pow!_ Seungmin turned around just in time to see an Officer by the door lower his gun. What felt like a grenade slammed into his shoulder, the Announcer’s and one of the girl’s heads exploded in bursts of red. He moaned and held his arm tight, falling to his knees. The Officer caught sight of him. He scrambled behind Jake, just as the Officer fired once more. The shot hit Jake in the chest, who fell back,limp on Seungmin. 

There was blood. So much blood. The ground underneath him was slippery with it. As he looked up at the other terrified boys behind him, he thought; _no, no, I'm no different than you, don’t leave me!_ But they ran. And so did the rest of the audience. The officer swiftly approached, hurdling the stage and looming over the panicking Seungmin. “N-no, p-please, can, ah, can yo-you he-elp me-” he spluttered, his tears flowing freely now. The Officers smirked. “You’re asking me, a respected, well paid, Alis worker to fail my mission so some kid doesn’t have to die? What do you think my answer is?” The Officer crouched down and poked Seungmins neck with the tip of his gun.

Seungmin’s brain went numb, death staring him in the face. A stony resolve settled in his stomach. He would survive. He would, at anyone’s expense because, really, he didn’t care anymore. No one was living for a purpose anymore. No one really mattered. He slammed his foot into the Officers face, eliciting an audible crack. The Officer reeled away. Seungmin yanked the gun out of the man's hand, gritting his teeth against the pain in his shoulder before he pointed the gun at the Officer’s head and pulled the trigger.

\----------------------

Jeongin stared blankly at the screen. Did that really just happen? Eric had told him these were their stories but… he didn’t think... 

He had taken a special liking to this boy, Kim Seungmin. He was so soft and nervous. Jeongin was, for some reason, sad that Seungmin was getting Selected today. But all hell had just broken loose, and he had been sitting on the edge of his seat for the past five minutes, positive Seungmin wouldn’t make it. But there the boy stood, in a large puddle of dark red, gun in hand, bleeding like crazy. Jeongin smiled to himself. He liked this Seungmin more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hellooooooooooo ppl  
> i really liked writing this, in a weird way. its just a little intense


	24. Ground Zero

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> happy birthday park jisung and taehyuuuuuuuuuuuuun<<<<<<<<<3

Minho had decided he was dead. He had to be. What other explanation made sense? Eric was talking to him as if they’d never met before, and his voice was deeper. Eric saw the confusion on the kids face and sighed. “Look, I'm not who you think I am. I’m not that dumb kid you knew, although we are genetically identical. He wasn’t real. He was a Genetic Double, or a GD, of myself. No one you met in your Program- in your life- ever actually existed. We only know of one case where a side-Character physically existed, and he’s one room over with a missing leg. I’ll explain more later, but now that you’re out of shock, you need rest. If you’ll excuse me, I have to make sure Mr.Seo doesn’t get himself killed in the training room.” Minho listened to the man turn and leave the room.

Yup, he was dead. He shook his head a little. As far as he could tell, maybe this was a kind of purgatory. But he had been expecting to be able to see in whatever afterlife existed. Disappointed but not surprised. As he felt around himself, he discovered an IV in his arm, and a small table beside his bed. As he listened, he noticed an underlying hum, underneath all of the voices and footsteps from whatever was outside his room. He decided the hum was something electric. He sat listening to it for a while, trying to kill his boredom. He didn’t really have the urge to explore outside of this room, he didn’t feel like getting lost right now. It was around an hour later when the door opened and the hum rose slightly as someone entered. The someone seemed to stop for a moment, then laughed to themselves. “So you’re ‘the suicidal kid’? I’m Jeongin, nice to meet you.” “Jeongin” stepped forward and grabbed Minho’s hand, shaking it heartily. “I’m Minho.” He already liked this Jeongin, mainly because he didn’t call him “the blind kid”.

“Have you been in the Hall yet? No, of course, you haven’t. I’ll take you, come on.” Jeongin pulled Minho to his feet and pulled the IV along with them. Minho already felt disoriented, as Jeongin wasn’t holding onto him very firmly, and he felt he would lose his footing any moment. He realized the hum was coming from Jeongin himself. “Why are you buzzing?” he asked. “Electricity.” Jeongin answered without stopping. They entered the Hall, people bustling all around them and chattering and shouting to each other. “From what Mr. Hwang told me, this is kind of the control room.” Jeongin supplied, gesturing around, even though Minho couldn’t see it.

“I thought I told you to stop calling me that, Jeongin.” a voice came from behind them.


	25. Greetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> yeet, yur welcome

“Mr. Seo, please be caref-”  
Crash!  
Changbin sighed and kicked the punching bag he’d just dropped. Turn’s out, picking up things with what others were calling “the force” (apparently it’s a reference to some old show) actually take’s practice. It’s kind of like its own muscle, and needs to be exercised. He couldn’t even lift a body yet! It was just as boring and just as hard as working out, except he could lift a little more than the usual. “Maybe try standing it up for as long as possible?” Eric suggested, standing by the door and making sure Changbin didn’t hurt himself. Changbin pouted and crossed his arms, but did as told. He lasted a little under five minutes, with Eric’s encouragement. He groaned this was gonna take forever.

“Do you wanna take a break? We can go watch the screens, or grab some lunch in the cafeteria.” Changbin nodded and Eric helped him up from his position on the floor. “Lunch.” He didn't like watching the screens, most of them were sad, and one in particular he couldn’t bear to watch. Plus, he was hungry. He’d just learned how to eat! They made their way through the maze of hallways and trotted down the main staircase, hanging a left towards the cafeteria. Almost no one was there, lunch hour having passed already. There were only a few people leaning on the walls and chatting, and one guy sitting alone at a table near the center of the giant room. They went through the line, and Changbin tried not to be grossed out at how chunky everything looked. _Why would you put food in your mouth…?_

He went for a taco and some soda, and debated with Eric where to sit. Finally he convinced him to sit with the lonely dude. The guy was wearing all black, a plain snapback pulled down over his face. As they approached, the guy seemed to tense up. Changbin plopped into the seat on the guy’s left, Eric sitting beside him. “Mr. Seo, this is Mr. Bang. He’s also a Character.” Changbin was surprised for a moment. The guy, Mr Bang, stole a glance at him, and suddenly Changbin remembered. This was one of the recent arrivals, the one who was kicking and screaming, and crying when the medics tried to get him away from the other man he was with. There was a lot of blood on “Mr. Bang”s face then, and he hardly looked the same with his pale skin cleaned off. Changbin took a deep breath, trying to find his words.

“..uh, you… you can call me Changbin… if you want…” Mr. Bang hesitantly lifted his head. “I-I’m Chan. or Chris- whichever is fine…” they fell back into silence. Eric scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Ok, guys, just get it over with. Tell eachother your stories.” the two glanced at each other, not really knowing where to start. “Who was… um, with you when you came through?” Changbin asked. Chan’s eyes softened immediately, and a small smile graced his face. “That was my Dad.” Changbin turned to Eric, confused. “I thought all the side-Characters were fake.” Eric nodded. “This is the one exception. Mr. Bang’s father was a hacker, hirable to any but preferred Rebel jobs. Eventually, the Republic got tired of it and arrested him. They killed his husband and took his son, but promised the son’s safety if he would participate in a Program.” Chan nodded along with the story, face blank.

“Oh…” Changbin couldn’t imagine that. He’d rather not know where his parents were or if they were alive. “I’m sorry that happened to you…” Chan shook his head. “Nothing to be done… and you?” Changbin thought for a moment. “I’m not too complicated… I just lived in a lab for my whole life and now I’m here.” Chan cocked his head a bit. “That’s it?” Changbin nodded. “What’s your… Ability or whatever?” it was Chan’s turn to be confused. “...Ability…?”

Eric looked like he was about to say something, but was cut off. “I don’t believe I’ve had that conversation with Mr. Bang yet.” Hyunjin appeared out of nowhere. Chan flinched and almost fell out of his chair. Hyunjin looked concerned. “I apologize, Mr. B- Christopher. I didn’t mean to scare you.” he reached out to put a hand on Chan’s shoulder, but pulled it back before touching the boy. “It’s fine, Mr. Hwang. Wait, I mean Hyunjin, sorry…” Chan shook his head, looking a little out of it. Hyunjin turned to Changbin. “I came to ask if you’d like to come on the next mission with me.” Changbin looked sceptical. “I haven’t trained for very long, and I dunno how much help I can be, but sure.” Hyunjin nodded once, satisfied. “I have to warn you, our target can be invisible, and he doesn’t even know it himself.” Hyunjin turned back to Chan, motioning for him to follow, pivoted on his heels and walked away swiftly and uniformly.

Eric and Changbin watched the two go. “Can you tell he was a Prince?” Eric scoffed. Changbin nodded and chuckled. Eric paused for a moment. “I've never seen Mr. Hwang so flustered. And he was barely flustered… how much you wanna bet he likes Mr. Bang?” Changbin’s jaw dropped. Now that he thought about it… “Yup, give it a week.” he agreed.


	26. Force

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hola

“Sir, sir wait- darn it…” Felix sighed and leaned back against the wall. He glanced around at the people walking around him. The citizen’s faces in this town didn’t fall apart like the others he had seen. They never actually looked at him. Sometimes they would look up when he called to them, but they just overlooked him, even though he was clearly the one speaking. He had taken to chasing after people, trying to ask them for money, or for a job. He had barely eaten since he’d arrived here three days ago, and he was so tired. He had no clothes to change into, only the ones he was wearing. It was winter and he had no coat. Nights were below zero. Luckily, there were water fountains every few blocks. He kicked a rock and jogged across the street, glancing in the windows of shops and bakeries, mouth watering and eyes longing.

He stopped in his tracks, staring at himself in the window. He looked dirty, and scared. He sighed once more but cut himself off when he noticed something. The longer he looked, the more he could see it. He was becoming more and more transparent. He could see people behind him and the cars going by. He blinked and his reflection returned to normal, but as he stared once more, the fading repeated. Was he…invisible? No, no way. He looked around again. There was a newspaper on the ground near him. He bent down and picked it up, and began waving it around, watching for people’s reactions. A little girl, sitting on a bench next to her mother pointed at him with wide eyes. Well, more like at the paper. A man talking on his phone froze and looked at it curiously.

Felix threw the paper down. This was not good. He wasn’t one to steal, so this wouldn’t help him there. Was he stuck like this? Could he turn back? He ran his hands through his hair and decided to just walk, walk somewhere, anywhere. He shoved his hands in his worn out pockets and kept his head down while he went. He kicked rocks and ignored traffic signs. No one could charge him for jaywalking if they couldn’t see him. He soon found himself in the town square. He flopped onto a bench and blew on his hands to warm them. He looked around, deciding to just watch people. There were some kids playing soccer, people smoking cigarettes, people pushing strollers, and people throwing coins into the fountain piece in the center of it all. He looked up at the purple sky, the golden yellow birds wheeling above. Something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Yes, there were two people sitting on top of a building, legs dangling over the edge. And they seemed to be watching him. Or at least looking in his general area. They seemed to know he was watching them, and they smiled. To his surprise, they leaned forward, the short one grabbed the tall one's hand, and they jumped off the building. But they didn’t dead-weight to the concrete like he had expected they would. Instead, they floated safely down to the sidewalk, unnoticed by passers-by. It seemed that Felix was the only one to notice them. As they strolled casually towards him, Felix thought about running, but they seemed nice enough… they stopped when they had reached him. “Lee Felix, yes?” the taller one asked. Felix nodded, choosing to completely ignore the fact that this random guy knew his name. “You’re not from around here, are you?” ‘the tall one’, Hyunjin, asked. Although he already knew everything about this boy. “No, I’m from a small town, twelve miles west.” Felix glanced between the two of them. “Um, are you two from here?” the tall one nodded, but the short one seemed to look to the tall one for confirmation. “Uh, oh, yeah. We live just down that street.” the short one, Changbin, pointed. He was still shaken up from how nervous he was about carrying himself and Hyunjin down from that building.

“Well, what are your names?” Felix inquired, getting a little suspicious but interested at the same time. The short one opened his mouth but the tall one silenced him with a glance. “I’m Hyunjae.” the tall one said. The short one glanced around nervously before speaking. “I-I’m Changbyun.” Felix nodded. “You already know my name, so let me ask a question. How can you see me?”


	27. Gone

Jisung kicked a rock, sighing to himself and jogging up the steps while he contemplated how to tell Jihwa he couldn’t find a job. Even though there were only the three of them to provide for, their world was in chaos. Just today, he’d almost been mugged twice, the cause of the bloody word cut into his forearm. He paused at the door and took a deep breath before turning the handle. He locked the door behind him and pulled off his jacket to hang it up. He ran a hand through his hair and turned towards the bare single room, freezing at the sight that greeted him.

Jihwa… there she lay. There was one, large cut from her stomach to her neck, and her ribs were spread open. Her guts were gone, all except her heart, which lay in her right hand. She was gutted like a fish. Jisung dropped to his knees, feeling something like exasperation. He gazed at her delicate face, contorted in fear and pain, tear stains running down her cheeks. Whoever did this… did it while she was alive. He shivered at the thought.

Jiroo. Where was Jiroo? He couldn’t let his little brother see this- but wait… Jiroo was there sitting on the windowsill, watching him curiously. Slowly, a smile spread across the boy's face, and slowly, Jisung realized what happened. It was him… Jiroo had poisoned the kids. Jiroo had done… _this_ to Jihwa. Jisung wanted to say something, but his mouth wouldn’t do what he told it. This little _demon_ had somehow infiltrated his family, and he had done nothing to stop it. He had failed, failed just like his father always said, failed to be a man. 

Jiroo stood up, intimidating even as a six year old. “I just want you to know, I didn’t kill them because I enjoy their pain. I killed them because I enjoy yours.” The boy reached into his pocket and quickly pulled something out, lunging at his older brother and aiming the thing for his face. Jisung somehow managed to catch the boy’s wrists, but got knocked backwards.

And that’s when everything stopped.

Well nothing really stopped, things just slowed down. Jisung saw with wide eyes that the thing Jiroo was holding was a curved knife, covered in what he could only assume was Jihwa’s blood. He glanced around, pushing himself out from under Jiroo. There was a crackling sound behind him and he whirled around to see a large blue crack in the air. His head was pounding, and he was too overwhelmed to think. The crack widened and someone stepped out of it.

Hyunjin saw the dazed look on Jisung’s face. He had returned from the scout mission in Felix’s world to the whole HQ in a whirl, everyone shouting about “Mr. Han, Mr. Han’s in trouble! Mr. Hwang you have to help him!” He had been pulled away from Changbin and he hoped Eric was checking on him. But dang, he thought he was tired? Jisung looked like he hadn’t slept in three years.

He knelt down beside Jisung, ignoring the young boy frozen in the air beside him. “Look, a lot has happened to you today. Just come with me, I’m not going to hurt you.” He didn’t have enough energy to give a speech. Jisung nodded numbly. Something about the kindness in the boy’s face… Hyunjin helped him up and pulled him through the crack by the hand. Jisung looked back as they fell, and caught sight of Jihwa’s body fading away to a small dot. Tears sprang to his eyes, and he closed them.


End file.
